E-NEWS

...your dues at work.

 

A weekly digest of education news for Alaska's School Board Members.

Association of Alaska School Boards, 1111 West 9th St., Juneau, AK 99801. Tel.

907-586-1083, Fax 907-586-2995. Carl Rose, Executive Director,

crose@aasb.org:    John Greely, Editor, jgreely@aasb.org. Review past issues of

the E-News on the AASB Website at <http://www.aasb.org>. To unsubscribe send an email stating the same to jgreely@aasb.org.

 

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Sponsored by Alaska Public Entity Insurance Co. <http://www.akpei.com>

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AASB E-News                                                                                                                     

November 29, 2007

 

 

--TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SINGLED OUT FOR TEST SCORES

--NATIONAL ARTS ENDOWMENT PICKS ALASKA FOR INSTITUTE

--STATE WANTS TO TRAIN EDUCATORS FOR READING

--FAIRBANKS HOPES TO PROMOTE EXERCISE WITH NEW P.E. CLASS

--STUDY: KIDS WILL EAT HEALTHY SCHOOL FOOD

--WINTER BOARDSMANSHIP ACADEMY AND SECRETARY WORKSHOP

--COMING UP: ALASKA STUDENT SAFETY SUMMIT. DEC. 10-11

 

TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS SINGLED OUT FOR TEST SCORES

 Anderson Elementary School in Fairbanks and Mountain View Elementary School in Anchorage have been named National Title I Distinguished Schools in Alaska. The Department of Education & Early Development selected the two schools for their progress in meeting Adequate Yearly Progress goals. See full story here:

http://newsminer.com/2007/11/28/10122

 

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NATIONAL ARTS ENDOWMENT PICKS ALASKA FOR INSTITUTE

 While there is increasing support for arts education in the K-12 curriculum, it remains on the margins in many schools. To help put more muscle behind the mandates for arts education, the National Endowment for the Arts announced the first round of grant recipients to participate in the Education Leaders Institute. Five multidisciplinary teams from states and municipalities, including Alaska, will receive NEA support to discuss arts education challenges at the first Institute in March, 2008, in Chicago. See full news release here:

http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/ELI2.html

 

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STATE WANTS TO TRAIN EDUCATORS FOR READING

 A proposal to require all Alaska teachers to take a special course in how to teach reading has triggered an outpouring of protests from teachers, principals and others. The proposal is aimed at addressing a chronic problem: Too many children have poor reading skills that hamper them in all their class work. But teachers and others call the plan an unfunded mandate that is a waste of most teachersŐ time. See full story here:

http://www.adn.com/news/education/story/9481398p-9392587c.html

 

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FAIRBANKS HOPES TO PROMOTE EXERCISE WITH NEW P.E. CLASS

 A new required physical education class is being proposed for all high school students in Fairbanks. The new class, Fundamentals of Physical Education, is designed to give students a broad understanding of the importance of regular exercise, district officials say. See full story here:

http://newsminer.com/2007/11/27/10111

 

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STUDY: KIDS WILL EAT HEALTHY FOOD

 Maybe getting school children to eat healthy foods isnŐt a hopeless struggle. Bucking some common notions, a University of Minnesota study has found that school lunch sales donŐt decline when healthier meals are served, and that more nutritious lunches donŐt necessarily cost schools more to produce. See full story here:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-11-25-school-lunch_N.htm

 

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WINTER BOARDSMANSHIP ACADEMY AND SECRETARY WORKSHOP

 AASBŐs Winter Boardsmanship Academy and Secretary Workshop kick off Dec. 13-14 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage. The academy is offering training in how to hire and retain teachers; how to better train staff in technology; how to evaluate, train and offer tenure to teachers; and how to evaluate superintendents. For secretaries, the sessions on Dec. 13-14 will feature how-to sessions on organizing school board meetings, dealing with staff and the public and other tips. Click on the links below to get more information and registration forms:

 

For the Boardsmanship Academy:

http://www.aasb.org/Calendar/WinterBrdAcad.html

 

For the Secretary Workshop:

http://www.aasb.org/Calendar/secretaries.html

 

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COMING UP: ALASKA STUDENT SAFETY SUMMIT, DEC. 10-11

 The first-ever statewide summit designed to bring together law enforcement officials, educators, community-based providers, and youth leaders to discuss safety issues is scheduled for Dec. 10-11 in Anchorage. Subjects to be covered include gangs, suicide, vehicular collisions, Internet predators, bulling, hate crimes and substance abuse. The Alaska Student Safety Summit will be held at the Hotel Captain Cook. The conference organizers are offering scholarships for high school students to attend. Click here for more information on how to register:

http://www.SignUp4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=DARE10E

 

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Association of Alaska School Boards

 

1111 West 9th Street, Juneau, Alaska 99801-1510 Tel. 907-586-1083

Fax 907-586-2995 Email: aasb@aasb.org

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